2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards
October 8, 2015
The Distinguished Law Alumni Awards honor alumni who have obtained distinction in their professional or academic careers. Those honored share the same characteristics of leadership, progressive thinking, high standards, uncompromising integrity, commitment, courage, and confidence. Their careers serve as models for WashU Law students and alumni.
Distinguished Alumni
Judith A. Garson, JD ’75
2015 Distinguished Alumna
Vice President, Finance, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York
Judith Garson has dedicated her career to philanthropy. She currently serves as vice president of finance for the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, an advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that children have access to health services, safe and stable housing, quality education, financial stability, and healthy, affordable food. Ms. Garson has also served as the organization’s chair and president, and she continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.
Ms. Garson’s present affiliations also include serving on the Board of Directors of New York City’s MCC Theater, one of New York’s leading off-Broadway theater companies, as well as chairing MCC’s nominating committee. Additionally, she is active in the Pregnancy Loss Support Program as a board member. The program offers free counseling and support for parents who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death, as well as women who are pregnant following a loss. From 1994 to 2004, she also served as the program’s chair.
Other organizations with which Ms. Garson has worked include Creative Response to Conflict, both as chair and mediation trainer and facilitator; New York’s Dalton School, as a member of the Dalton Council and the Task Force on Community Service; and the National Council of Jewish Women NY Section, as a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. She has also served as an attorney in New York, as well as an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School.
Ms. Garson’s service extends to Washington University, where she has served as a member of the National Council for the Undergraduate Experience (2002–09) and as a member of the Parents Council (2002–05).
After earning her bachelor’s degree from Boston University in 1971, Ms. Garson earned a JD from Washington University School of Law in 1975, where she also served as editor of the Washington University Law Review.
Cynthia G. Heath, JD ’82
2015 Distinguished Alumna
Vice President, Executive Compensation, Emerson
Cynthia G. Heath has served as vice president of executive compensation at Emerson Corporate Headquarters in St. Louis since 1999, where she is responsible for the compensation and equity programs for Emerson’s worldwide executives. In her role, she continues to use her legal training from Washington University to address both U.S. and international law and regulatory issues.
She began her legal career at Lewis, Rice & Fingersh in 1982, practicing general corporate law until a partner, Joan Newman, drafted her into employee benefits law. Ms. Heath joined Emerson in 1988 as its employee benefits counsel in the Emerson Tax Department.
Ms. Heath is a longtime supporter of Washington University School of Law, serving as a member of the Law School Building Campaign, as chair of the Law School Eliot Society, as a member of the Benefactor Committee, as a representative of the Corporate Matching Gift program, and as a member of the Class Reunion Committee, as well as an annual supporter of the David J. and Cynthia G. Heath Honor Scholarship. She was named an Honorary Initiate to the Order of the Coif at Washington University School of Law in May 2000.
Ms. Heath is a board member of the Washburn University Foundation (2011–present), the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, and Action for Autism. She is a member of the Center on Executive Compensation and The Conference Board Council on Executive Compensation.
Ms. Heath earned a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) in history from Washburn University. In 1978, she completed her master’s degree (summa cum laude) in education– curriculum and instruction. After teaching for eight years, she returned to school and in 1982, earned her JD from Washington University School of Law.
She was married to David Heath until his death in 2006 and has two children, Ashley Heath Dietz, who works for the city of Sydney, Australia, and Heather Heath Ryan, who along with her husband Peter, are 2004 Washington University School of Law graduates practicing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Heath is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren.
Robert S. Kallen, JD/MA ’82
2015 Distinguished Alumnus
Visiting Professor and Director of the MS Program in Economics and Policy Analysis, DePaul University
Robert Kallen is currently a visiting professor and director of the MS Program in Economics and Policy Analysis at DePaul University. His teaching awards include the 2002 Distinguished Faculty Award from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and the 2007 Daniel Seiden Adjunct Teaching Award from DePaul. He has also developed several courses, including The Interaction of Business, Government and Public Policy in a Democratic Society, which he has taught at Washington University School of Law as a visiting professor. He has guest lectured on college campuses around the country on political economy and business ethics.
Professor Kallen started his career as a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission and then joined Bake-Line Products (then the largest private-label cookie manufacturing company), where he was vice president of operations and general counsel. Since the company was acquired in 1992, Professor Kallen has had a diverse career that has included providing capital and business expertise to small businesses and startups and helping nonprofits become sustainable. In 2007, after years as an adjunct professor at various institutions, his love for teaching led him to his current full-time position at DePaul. However, he continues to consult and serve on numerous boards and is currently chairman of the board of a medical tissue transplant company, as well as treasurer of a nonprofit that advocates for alternatives to pesticides.
Through the law school’s congressional fellowship program, which he has replicated at DePaul for graduate economics students, Professor Kallen was able to work for Senator Paul Tsongas in 1982 and has been active in national politics ever since. He worked on the 1992 Clinton/Gore transition team, was a member of the Next Gen PAC, and is presently part of the No Labels PAC. In 2002, he was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellowship.
Professor Kallen graduated from Washington University in 1982 with both a JD and an MA in economics. He and his wife, fellow attorney Anita M. Rowe, have two children, both of whom graduated with honors from Washington University.
John S. Meyer, Jr., JD ’84
2015 Distinguished Alumnus
Shareholder and Chair of the Business & Real Estate Transactions Practice Group at Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan PC, St. Louis
John Meyer is a shareholder at Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan PC in Clayton, Missouri. In 1980, after graduating from Yale University, he worked in Washington, D.C., for Senator John Danforth. Following President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, his duties included explaining to visiting constituents the senator’s support of the president’s cuts to social service programs. He
observes that this prepared him for the Socratic method at Washington University School of Law, where he matriculated in the fall of 1981. In 1983, he married Laura Lewis, whom he met in 1970 at John Burroughs School. Both graduated from Washington University in 1984, John with a JD and Laura with a master’s degree in art history. In 2013, Mr. Meyer was named an Honorary Initiate of the Order of the Coif.
He began his law career with Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts LLP, where he was a member of the Banking and Real Estate Department for 23 years. His practice included lending, business acquisitions, real estate development, entity formation, nonprofit governance, Chapter 11 reorganizations, leasing, and construction disputes.
In 2007, Mr. Meyer joined Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan PC as a shareholder and leader of its burgeoning Business & Real Estate Practice Group. Six months later, he was elected to the firm’s Executive Committee, on which he served for six years.
Mr. Meyer has written about and lectured on mechanic’s lien and construction law, leasing, and payment issues. He taught debtor/creditor and construction law at the University of Wisconsin’s Fluno Institute.
Mr. Meyer serves and has served on the boards of many nonprofit corporations, including City Museum, Forsyth School (past president), Loop Media Hub (president), John Burroughs School, Beyond Housing, Robert Burns Club of St. Louis (past president), and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (past president). He is a member of the President’s Council for Grace Hill, which he has represented for many years. He serves on the law school’s National Council and is immediate past chair of the Law Eliot Committee, which achieved its membership goals for four consecutive years (2011–14).
Peter H. Ruger, MA ’66, JD ’69
2015 Distinguished Alumnus
Retired Senior Lecturer in Law, Washington University School of Law and Former General Counsel, Washington University
Peter Ruger was a co-director of the Intellectual Property & Nonprofit Organizations Law Clinic (now the Entrepreneurship & Intellectual Property Clinic) until his retirement in 2013. He supervised law students in providing critical legal services to numerous community organizations. Professor Ruger also taught Nonprofit Organizations Planning & Drafting and Tax Exempt Organizations as an adjunct professor of law and then as a senior lecturer in law.
From 2004 to 2008, Professor Ruger was of counsel at Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt PC, where he represented a number of colleges and universities, public school districts, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, and individuals in both litigation and transactional matters. From 1997 to 2004, he served as general counsel at Southern Illinois University, including the Carbondale, Medical, and Edwardsville campuses. Prior to that, Professor Ruger served as a partner at Peper, Martin, Jensen, Maichel and Hetlage in St. Louis.
Professor Ruger served as general counsel for Washington University from 1974 to 1992, where he supervised five staff lawyers, and where his practice areas included litigation management, health sciences, compliance with government regulations, tort liability, technology transfer, and faculty employment issues. Prior to that, he served at Husch, Eppenberger, Donohue, Elson, and Cornfeld in St. Louis, worked for the Attorney General of Missouri’s Office as an assistant attorney general, and served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps.
Professor Ruger is the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of College and University Attorneys and a Philanthropy Award from St. Louis Caring Communities. In recognition of his tireless work on behalf of the school and the community, he was named an Honorary Initiate of the Order of the Coif in 2009.
He currently is on the boards of the Webster Groves Public Library, the St. Louis County Historic Buildings Commission, and the Missouri Budget Project. Throughout his career he has served numerous nonprofits as counsel and board member.
Professor Ruger received a bachelor’s degree from Denison University and earned a master’s degree in history and a JD from Washington University, in 1966 and 1969 respectively. While at the law school, he served on the Board of Editors for the Washington University Law Quarterly.
2015 Distinguished Young Law Alumni Awards
The Distinguished Young Law Alumni Awards honor alumni who graduated from WashU Law within the past 10 years. The recipients exemplify achievement and commitment to the ideals embodied in a School of Law education.
Calvin G. Butler Jr., JD ’94
2015 Distinguished Alumna
CEO, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company
Calvin G. Butler Jr. is chief executive officer of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), an Exelon company. Prior to assuming that role in 2014, he served as BGE’s senior vice president, regulatory and external affairs, and also served as Exelon’s senior vice president of corporate affairs. He played a critical role in helping to successfully navigate company and stakeholder relations during the merger between Exelon and Constellation Energy.
Before joining Exelon in 2008, Mr. Butler held leadership positions for eight years with the print, digital, and supply chain solutions company RR Donnelley, including senior director of government affairs, vice president of manufacturing, and senior vice president of external affairs. He spent his early career with Central Illinois Light Co. (CILCORP), where he worked in government affairs, legal and strategy.
Mr. Butler currently serves on the board of directors for the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Maryland Zoological Society (Maryland Zoo in Baltimore), the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. He is on the board of governors for The Center Club, on the board of trustees for the Baltimore Community Foundation, and is a governor appointee to the Maryland Private Sector Economic Development Commission. In addition, Mr. Butler is a member of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., and also serves in multiple leadership capacities at his alma mater, Bradley University. He is currently vice chairman, member of the executive committee, and chairman of the Presidential Search Committee. In 2014, Butler served as the chair of the American Heart Association’s Greater Baltimore Heart Walk.
In 2014, Mr. Butler received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Morgan State University, the Presidents’ Roundtable Corporate Executive Trailblazer Award and the Icon Award from Associated Black Charities. From 2011 to 2014, he was recognized by Uptown Professional Magazine as one of the top “100 Executives in America.”
Mr. Butler earned a bachelor’s degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and a JD from Washington University School of Law.
Mr. Butler is married to Sharon Crawford and has two children, Blake Calvin and Raini Alexis.
Lee Marshall, AB ’93, JD ’99
2015 Distinguished Alumnus
Partner, Bryan Cave LLP
Lee Marshall is the leader of Bryan Cave’s Commercial Litigation Client Service Group and co-chair of the firm’s Strategic Planning Committee. He focuses his practice on commercial, intellectual property, and appellate litigation.
As a trial lawyer, Mr. Marshall maintains an active intellectual property trial practice with an emphasis in high-stakes patent litigation. He has also tried numerous commercial cases, including contract, non-compete, unfair competition, and fraud cases in the software, banking, and pharmaceutical industries. He is extremely active in class action matters, having defended several cases with potential exposure into the nine and ten figures. Among other victories, he acted as lead appellate counsel for Residential Funding Corporation, a division of Ally Financial, in reversing a $92-million punitive damage jury verdict on appeal. Mr. Marshall has won appeals in state and federal appellate courts from coast to coast, including in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Mr. Marshall has a background in organic chemistry and enzymology. He attended graduate school at The Scripps Research Institute, where he was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Mr. Marshall has represented clients in patent disputes involving a variety of biotechnology and pharmaceutical technologies.
Mr. Marshall has also been active in pro bono work. He has served as lead appointed counsel in a rare instance in which the district court granted a writ of habeas corpus; handled appellate work for Voices for Children; served as special counsel to the Advisory Committee on Saint Louis Public Schools; and filed amicus briefs in marriage equality cases on behalf of the Family Equality Council.
From 2003 to 2010, Mr. Marshall served as an adjunct professor of law at Washington University, where he taught in the Appellate Clinic. In 2007, Chief Judge James Loken appointed Mr. Marshall to the Federal Advisory Committee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
He received his AB in chemistry in 1993 and his JD in 1999, both from Washington University. While in law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the Washington University Law Review.
